The Mature Age
by Rafxsulfuslovestory
Summary: As Hiccup became Berk's new chief, a great danger pushes him to leave his native isle to go find a mysterious world. Throughout this journey, Hiccup's relationship with his dragon, Toothless, and his girlfriend, Astrid, will be put to the test. However, Hiccup will come out grown up. Possible HTTYD3 based on Annecy and TIFF clips but more romantic. Hiccstrid.
1. Prologue

_**So Guys! I'm very excited to finally be able to announce you that I just started a new fanfiction called "The Mature Age".**_

 _ **It will be about HTTYD of course but especially about what could happen in HTTYD3. For that, I will use the clips I saw at Annecy and the descriptions I had of the TIFF scenes. So be warned, this fiction will contain spoilers.**_

 _ **Also, I'm really glad to tell you that my beloved friend AlexxP98 will illustrate this story! Thank you again!**_

 _ **And I want to thank Megtoons for translating this chapter and JoyOfBerK, Chiefhiccstrid, Wolfie-dragon-rider for correcting it!**_

 _ **As to this chapter in particular, it constitutes an introduction of the story which means that it takes place before the beginning of HTTYD3.**_

 _ **Enjoy!**_

 _ **P.S : Be warned, explicit scene at the end of the chapter.**_

* * *

At dawn, the sunlight came in, brushing the thin skin of my eyelids with its rays to wake me up. I tried to fight it, wishing to keep the fresh memory of last night in my mind as long as possible. However, my eyes opened. My dream had disappeared but the love that emanated from it left a happy smile on my face. I was walking in my white dress towards Hiccup who was contemplating me with this indescribable look. I woke up this way every morning for two weeks now, without ever managing to join him. That's why I tried to finish it so much; I needed to know what happened next... I woke up, it wouldn't be today.

I put my leggings on at the same time as my spiked skin. After I put on my top, I fixed my shoulder-pieces which I added some fur for more comfort. Thus, I could freely attend to hard work of my hairstyle's elaboration. Yes, it was a daily headache but the result was worth it. And then, this way, I stayed related to the one who had imagined this braid for me: my best friend, Heather. I was tying the tip of my plait when I heard my mom calling me.

"I'm coming!"

I jumped into my furry boots and went down the stairs quickly to join her in the fireplace. She was waiting for me there to have breakfast.

"Morning Mom!" I exclaimed before kissing her on the cheek.

"You are late."

I took place to his left, at the head of the table.

"Late? Late for what, exactly?" I asked while pouring me a big glass of yak milk.

I took a sip before continuing, "Since when did we have a specific time for breakfast?"

"I got things to do unlike you, my daughter. I don't spend my days flirting and waiting to see which crazy adventures a nice brown-haired boy with emerald eyes will take me on today... No. I got a house to run. In this day and age, what I'm telling you doesn't make any sense but don't worry, you will understand when you'll reach what we call the _mature age_."

I opened my large round eyes.

"The _mature age_?" I repeated.

My mom raised an eyebrow before smirking.

"Yes, you will have reached this age when you're married to Hiccup. Then, you'll be the lady of your own house and you'll realize the amount of work it needs."

My eyebrows rose by themselves. I held my breath to not breathe a long sigh of exasperation.

"But Hiccup will be there to help me so it should be fine," I retorted.

She seemed to make a mocking laugh.

"Dream on my daughter. With his chief responsibilities, he will not have time for that kind of stuff!"

This time, I couldn't hold what was boiling inside me.

"And why do you think that's the life Hiccup and I want to have? Maybe the one we have now is more than enough for us?"

"Honey, if I'm saying all this stuff it's not to upset you but to prepare you for what's waiting for you in the next few years."

"But how could you know what will happen before it even happen?"

"Well, because it's the tradition of course."

"I thought that you already knew since the time, that Hiccup is changing things for the best."

"You're right Astrid, but now as the chief, he has to follow certain rules..."

"Probably."

There was a pause.

"Speaking of which..." my mom began hesitantly, "has Hiccup proposed to you?"

"Mom, we are already betrothed, it's only a matter of time before we..."

"...that you get married. Yeah, I know that but did he "officially" propose to you?"

"No, not yet... we didn't really have the time to talk about it but there is no pressure you know..."

"I see, he's really taking his time... and that's what I'm afraid of..." she sighed.

She looked up at me and took my hand between hers.

"Astrid, you know, there is a time for everything and at your age, it's normal to be married and there is a reason for that. Remember that sooner or later you will need to give Berk an heir and..."

I stood up from my chair.

"Okay, I think I've heard enough. Have a good day Mom," I reached to say without getting worked up.

I climbed the stairs as fast as I downed them to finally find myself in my room where I fell on the bed. Sometimes, my mother was going way too far with her moral lessons. I closed my eyes, thinking about all she had told me. I never figured that becoming Hiccup's wife would be so hard. Especially as my mother claimed, all this marriage stuff seemed to be a scurrying business. I naively thought that Hiccup and I had still many years left before making the leap. I knew that one day, we would start a family but I tend to forget that Hiccup was chief and consequently, this primordial part just came after the wedding. I opened my eyes to admire what was hanging over my bed: the necklace he gave me for our betrothal.

 _"This was my father's betrothal gift to my mother. Um . . . And he gave it to me, to give it to you. Astrid, you're a part of our family. You always have been and I hope you always will be."_

A thrill passed through my body at the memory of his words. I smiled. Hiccup was a romantic at heart, just like his father. He was one of the happiest at the idea of our future wedding. His father, Stoick, our chief was gone for more than a year now. Even if he took his role as a chief very seriously, I could tell that Stoick's death had affected him more than he wanted to admit it himself. That's the reason why I didn't understand why my mom wanted to rush on it so much. Hiccup loved me, I was sure of it and if he needed some time to process this all, I would wait. I would wait for him to be ready. He made me a promise and he will keep it. I trusted him.

 _"I love you, Astrid Hofferson, with everything I have. And I always will."_

I held the precious necklace tight against me. It was obvious that with such words, I wanted to marry this man right now. More seriously, I loved Hiccup and I had this wish that one day we could live together. I wanted to share his life, being closer to him, physically as well as carnally and that means, discovering him in an entirely other way, our two bodies fitting together, falling asleep next to him on the same bed every night. I felt lust for him. It was at this precise moment that I realized something...

I never said "I love you" to Hiccup.

Of course, I had shown him in many ways but never out loud. And if it was what makes him curb? The fact to not knowing if I loved him back? Was it a source of anxiety for him? I might have went a bit far but maybe unconsciously, that's what keeping him from making the leap. I sighed. It wasn't in staying here to complain about myself that everything will be better. I stood up from my bed and got out of my room. When I arrived downstairs, my mother was already back to her business. At least, on one point, she wasn't very wrong; I needed to go back to the real Hofferson way of life.

I went to find my dragon at the stables to take care of her and eventually prepared her to an improvised flight. It was at this moment that I met Ruffnut who, surprisingly, wasn't in her brothers company.

"Wow, what's that face!" she exclaimed. "It looks like you're not doing well... what's going on?" she finished by asking almost worried.

"W-What? No, you're imagining things..." I shuttered, still surprised by her show of sympathy.

The twin shrugged.

"All right. It's not like I was interested or something. Later Astrid!"

She was about to leave when I reached for her.

"Okay, you're right, things could be better... I had a fight with my mom."

Ruffnut decided to come closer.

"About what?"

"Hiccup."

"Typical. She still thinks he _awfully_ rulesthe village?"

I hit her in her ribs.

"It's true that my mother doesn't really like Hiccup but our fight was more about our relationship that I have with him and it's evolution in the long run."

"I see. She said the forbidden word, right?"

She got close to my ear and whispered.

" _Marriage_."

I shook my head before lifting it.

"Yeah that's more like it."

"And you, what do you think about all of this?"

"Me? Well... I've been dying to marry Hiccup, that's true! But on the other hand, I understand that he needs his time after his father's death, the village to manage, all of this...

Ruffnut put a hand on each of my shoulders.

"Astrid... Don't try to find him excuses, you know better than me that Hiccup always takes his time when it comes to this... but at the same time, we can't say you're really helping him..."

"What do you mean?" I wondered.

She looked at me top to bottom and pointed at my outfit.

"It's your style, honey, it's not good at all."

"My style? What's wrong with my style?"

"Well, how I can say that... you look kinda 'stuck', 'prude', 'not wife material.'"

I was astounded by her words.

"I mean," she continued, "look at your hairstyle: you must take an eternity to do it! You could let your hair down for example, it will give you a change? Then, your shirt, it goes till your neck! You could show way more tho, you need to be a little wanton, my dear! Or else how do you expect Hiccup to touch you?"

I blushed. Did she really say that? I didn't have time to ask more questions. She took me by the arm and guided me to the center of the village where the traditional Thursday's market took place. We began walking toward the different shop and when I was about to object, somebody touched my back. I turned around.

"H-Hiccup?"

"Hi Astrid," he said with a smile.

"Hi", I answered smiling. "You wanted something?"

His eyes shined with excitement.

"Yeah, I need to show you..."

"Sorry, I'm gonna stop you there, I'm taking Astrid shopping", Ruffnut interrupted.

"Shopping, really?", he asked amused.

"Exactly, I'll give her back later."

She came closer to his face and whispered: "Transformed!". Then she came back to me and pulled me into a shop a little further away. I looked at Hiccup apologetically but with Ruffnut as my personal stylist, I couldn't do much. We walked towards a shop that sold cut shirts; not the place I was used to going.

"Look at all these tops, aren't they great!? You don't wanna try one just to see?", asked the excited twin.

"What! Did you see the length of this cleavage Ruff?", I scandalized.

"Okay maybe you're right, it's true that they are a little bit to peeky. But wait, what do you think about this one!", she exclaimed while presenting me a blue-green type of shirt almost like one I wore a long time ago but that showed a little more skin than the previous one.

"Actually, I find it pretty good, I have to see once worn."

"Perfect, then we will take it!"

Ruffnut paid the merchant and we went to another shop.

"Thanks for the shirt", I said shyly.

"Oh that's nothing, you can thank me later, when you become the chief's wife", she declared by elbowing me in the shoulder and followed by a wink. "So, now we have to find something that you could wear with this shirt, what do you think about a little vest like mine?"

"I don't know, I'll have to see."

I started to search on my side and Ruffnut on hers when I fell onto an article kind of original. It was some sort of bolero made in red leather with diamonds sewed on it, it gave a relief to it and I found it kind of pretty. Seeing me smiling, the blond girl came to me.

"So you found something that you like?" she asked.

"I think so," I said in agreement.

"But, you will need something to cover your shoulders, it will be more stylish. What do you think about this fabric?"

"It could work. I'm gonna cut the sleeves and sew them to the vest, it should give it something great."

"Perfect. And while you are gonna do that, I'm gonna redo your hair."

"Are you sure it is necessary?"

"Go pay," she ordered, with stink eyes.

I excused myself. Maybe she was right after all? And on the other hand, it was kinda funny to do all these purchases and attempts. I gave the money to the vendor before going with our purchases to my hut.

Once we got there, Ruff hurried to put out the stuff that we had just bought and began preparing what she would need to make myself a new hairstyle. She pulled two chairs over and sat on one, ready to start her new hairy mission.

"Whenever you're ready!" she exclaimed.

I shook my head laughing.

"I'm gonna put the shirt on and I'll be back."

"Waiting for ya right here."

I arrived in my room and, seeing all the stuff spreading on my bed, I stopped for an instant. "What am I doing?" I thought. I laughed mentally, she really could make me do whatever she wanted. I took my sewing necessities and went back to her downstairs.

"There, there, I'm here!"

"Finally! Come on, sit here."

She pointed to the chair that was facing me and I sat in front of her.

"Just do it like I wasn't here. Care about your sewing, I'll take care of your hair."

"Fine with me."

"Time to work!" she throwed.

I began the sewing of the vermilion red fabric with the diamonds bolero. I cut the sleeves first into the fabric into a wavy shape style while my acolyte was fussing to undo my braid that I minutely did this morning for brushing out my locks. I felt then her long fingers ceasing a few strands on each side of my skull before joining them into a thick braid.

I had just finished with the sleeves when she shouted, "Done!"

I turned my head towards her.

"Already?" I said, surprised.

She nodded. I went to the house's mirror to take a look. And the result hit me, it changed me... literally. The length of my hair also hit me; my hair was so often braided that I didn't remember it being that long... but it was beautiful. In fact, I was finding my own self beautiful.

"Ruff, it's..."

"Wonderful, great, unique?"

"Amazing!" I exclaimed running to her to hug her tight. "Thanks..."

In the end, following Ruffnut wasn't as bad as I imagined. On the contrary, we had a real fun time, and who knows? Maybe it can be useful with Hiccup...

With my outfit all ready, I could finally join my fiancé. While crossing the village, I realized quickly that people were looking at me with interest. I felt myself blushing, I wasn't used to being the center of attention. As a part of the chief's entourage, I had a tendency to forget that people were watching my every move... In the middle of all the surprised and curious faces, I found one whose expression was more pronounced, it was accompanied by a large smile.

"Hiccup!" I yelled, jumping into his arms.

"A-Astrid!", he shuttered, looking pretty surprised that I came out of nowhere. "Looks like you missed me..." he breathed into my ear.

I smiled before stepping back to face him. He started to blush.

"Wow Astrid! You are..."

He didn't like my new outfit. He didn't like my new outfit. He didn't like my new outfit...

"Yes, I know it's probably too much..."

Suddenly, he seized my hands.

"No, Astrid! It's... it's perfect. It looks really good on you."

He had pronounced his words with kindness, he really meant what he was saying. His body got closer to mine, he was only inches away from my nose.

"I love it...", he sighed before kissing me with an open mouth.

Before I understood what was going on, I had kept my eyes opened and his tongue was dancing with mine in an exquisite ballet. It had been a long time since I felt _that_ , this sensation you feel only in the presence of the person you love. I put an end to the kiss to look at him straight in the eye, I smiled.

"So, what do you want me to see?" I asked, concerned.

He opened his eyes wide like he didn't know what I was talking about. Then, he squinted before suddenly recalling what he wanted to show me, his face relaxed.

"Oh yeah! Come," he ordered me while taking my hand.

In his crazy race, he brought me fast to Toothless where he lifted me by the waist to put me on his back. He climbed in front of me and we took off. We didn't fly for too long. A few miles from Berk, there was a little rock which I've never been on before. Hiccup made me climb off and I was on hard ground again. I put my feet on a carpet of spring flowers. For a stone, it was kinda nice. I started to walk toward the cliff, we probably could see Berk from here. I walked until I was facing the eternal ocean.

"It's beautiful..." I breathed.

That's when I discerned the footsteps of Hiccup, that I left behind me, reduce the distance between us. I felt his breath in my hair; he was quick to get them off my neck to reach my ear.

"Not as much as you..." he declared in a murmure.

I turned back to kiss him. My kisses were hot with desire, I wanted him right now. I caressed his cheek with my left hand while my other hand was losing her way in his brown hair. Suddenly, he lifted me so that I could hold onto him. I wrapped my legs around his waist and kissed him more deeply. He was holding me by the backside and I couldn't tell why but this position was exciting. I loved to feel that he was strong, that he could hold me without failure. He pushed his body harder against mine. I could feel his breath as well as his heart beats through his chest. His rhythm was fast and I think mine was fast too. His hand finally slipped under my skirt to skim a sensitive point. I bit my bottom lip, closing my eyes. He started to stroke the place delicately before putting hot kisses on my neck. He stayed on the thin skin a while before licking it. His eyes were on me again and his mouth came on mine. I moed my tongue to play with his while holding him in my arms. He still caressed the spot between my legs. I wanted him to keep going but he stopped, resting me on the ground with me and my frustration. He put his lips on mine one last time; my cheeks reddened by arousal while his hand touched me. He smiled and I forced myself to smile back. I took a deep breath.

"So, this was the place you wanted to show me?"

"Well, it was only a small glimpse of what I truly wanted to show you. I was thinking that spending time just the two of us will be good, you see?", he said to me on a ton that he wished reassuring, obviously searching to hide his visible embarrassment.

He was so cute.

"I can see that," I answered trying not to laugh.

He looked down with a smile before going to catch his satchel. Hiccup took an old dusty book out of it. The brown haired man blew air on it before handing it to me, apparently proud of his new discovery.

"I found it in Berk's archives with Fishlegs. It's called " The Hidden World" and it talks about a place that only exists beyond the archipelago where dragons could live in harmony forever."

"Really?"

"Yes! And by what it says, it could even have Night Furies!"

He pointed with his finger the handwritten page spoiled by time. I looked with care what was written on the illustrations that go with the text. This book was looking old but was surprisingly well conserved. I lifted my head towards my fiancé.

"That's amazing! But where is it exactly?" I asked, interested.

"That's the problem, no one has ever found a precise location... that's why I still need to do some research."

"We could do it together if you want?" I proposed.

"Are you sure it doesn't bother you? You don't have better things to do?"

"Better things than being with you,"I laughed, "I don't think so."

"Perfect then let's go to my house," he smiled.

He took my hand and helped me climb back on Toothless. After a quick flight to Berk, we arrived soon to his hut. When we got in, we were surprised to see Gobber and Valka talking.

"Ah finally you're here!" the old limping man exclaimed.

"Sorry, but we don't have time Gobber!" Hiccup excused before taking my hand to hike fast the stairs that leaded to his room.

"Ha, youngsters...", Gobber sighed.

Hiccup closed the door behind him with a relieved sigh. However, we heard Gobber say goodbye to Valka before leaving, then his mother indicate to us that she was going out too, from what we heard through the walls.

"Finally, some alone time..." he breathed.

I smiled before giving him a peck on his lips. I was about to ask with what we were gonna begin when his face got close to mine. It was him that was kissing me this time. He joined his hands in the hollow of my back to stick my body to his. We were walking together, meanwhile, getting dangerously close to his bed but I didn't care. He was another story entirely. I was still kissing him. My two hands around his head, steadying firmly his face against mine. A hand on my back and the other holding my head, it wasn't too long before he finally toppled me on his bed. He put himself on top of me, his right hand still holding my back, and we continued kissing passionately. I felt his other hand trying to force its way under my shirt to caress the skin below my breast. He didn't dare touch it despite my deep cleavage which made him melt. I moved my hands under his shirt to feel his muscles under my fingertips. Hiccup put his long fingers into my blond hair, snuggled up against them, sniffing them.

"I love your hair... you should let it down more often..." he whispered.

I kissed him as an answer. Then he finally decided to explore a southern part of me. His left hand slipped under my leggings and quickly reached the hidden part between my legs. He touched it slowly still kissing me. I followed the rhythm of his movements while my lips were melting in his. Sharp noises that I didn't recognize were escaping my mouth each time he was touching me _there_. He sped up while I grabbed him to support the stroke he set on me. Then, he took off my bottom to have more flexibility to touch me. I wanted to reciprocate but I didn't dare, I was scared he could reject me or even not doing it right. I didn't have time to think more longer: I felt a finger thrust inside me.

"Hic-Hiccup..." I moaned.

He started an in-and-out with his middle finger that he stopped from time to time just to caress the outside. When he leaned to kiss me, I felt his hard member against my thigh. I couldn't take it anymore, I had to touch him. I needed to know what it looks like. Carefully, I slipped my hand down the length of his middle until finally reaching through the fabric, the tip of his penis.

"A-A-Astrid ! "

Afraid to be admonished, I put an end to his outcry by tackling my mouth on his. In the meantime, with my thumb, I drew little circles on his member. He didn't object. So I continued and got to push his pants down. While pushing down, I brushed it with my fingertips then grabbed him, caressing it in all its length, from top to bottom like he was doing with me. We were rubbing each other mutually while kissing without an end. I quickened the rhythm to surprise him and he did the same. Our breaths sped up at the same time. I could hear his heart beating without a break through his shirt, wet with sweat. Suddenly, I felt something coming like a heatwave burning. It exploded and I moaned with pleasure. My free hand held Hiccup's shoulder tightly. He also made a cry that came from elsewhere. A hot sticky liquid came out of his sex and flooded into my hand, I got some onto my face. He fell on me putting his head on my breast, exhausted. It's only when he lifted his head to watch my face that he realized the mess. He widened his eyes then bit his lip, embarrassed, and rushed to grab a tissue to clean my cheek.

"Oh my gods... I'm really sorry... I didn't mean to..."

I tried not to chuckle but the situation was too funny not to crack, I sniggered.

"Hey not funny!" he exclaimed trying faintly to stay serious.

I laughed harder and ended up making him laugh too. We both giggled without end.

Once our little laughing fit was over, we lied comfortably on his bed after having put our clothes back on.

"Well... I think it's a little late to help you in your research now..." I breathed.

"True."

We laughed softly. Then, I came to lean on him, putting my head on his chest, looking at him straight in his eyes.

"What made you want to start this research?" I asked, curious.

Hiccup let out a sigh while looking at the ceiling.

"Well, when I was a boy, my dad used to tell me stories of a mysterious, secret world where dragons live and I suppose that's what pushed me to know if this place really exists or not."

I snuggled against him.

"Guess we are going to find out..." I whispered in tightening my hold on his hand with mine. " _Together_."

We fall asleep right away, holding each other tightly in the intimacy of his cozy bed.

* * *

When my eyes opened the day after, I was forced to notice that Astrid was still deeply asleep, and still on me. My lips drew a smile. She was adorable.

I finally decided to get up. With my clothes on me, I pushed my room's door to go take my breakfast downstairs. But I redrew my steps..

"Oh but they have time Gobber!" my mom exclaimed.

"That's what you think Val'! I assure you their wedding is a real question that will need to be solved real soon!"

"My goodness, Gobber, don't you think they have all their life to think about it? Stoick and I, we made the mistake to marry at a really young age and you saw where it went. I want him to have a choice."

"You might not be wrong Val', but what you have to understand, is that your lad is the chief of Berk now and he has responsibilities as such."

"Like giving an heir to Berk? I know the song Gobber, I've also been given this speech younger... But whatever, I'm the only one who thinks that way anyway."

My mom went out of the house in a storm.

"Wait up... Val'!" my old tutor exclaimed before following as fast as his peg leg would allow him.

They didn't see me, fortunately for me. I could come out of my room now. While walking downstairs, I was thinking about what I just heard. Is that what they all wanted? That I marry Astrid right away? I thought suddenly at Astrid's new style. Her hair down, her plunging neckline and cleavage... her strange attitude with Ruffnut. Maybe she was trying to pass me a message? I sighed. I will talk about it with her when the moment is right.

I had all day to think about it.


	2. Chapter one

The sun was not yet up when we landed silently on one of the hunter's ships. Toothless and I hid ourselves in the shadows. I thought back to how I missed breakfast this morning. I barely had time to eat some bread before my mother burst into my hut.

"Hurry up Hiccup!" she told me. "We're going on a raid this morning. It will be an opportunity to see if my teaching skills have paid off!"

And did I listen to her? Of course. Why would I be here otherwise? I watched Toothless; he was on the lookout for the slightest sound, unlike myself. I sighed. I really need to start concentrating a bit more.

Suddenly, footsteps were heard. A hunter was crossing a bridge. He zigzagged his way between dozens of cages on the ship. He stopped in front of one of the cages and demanded one of the dragons to be quiet. This was too much for me, it was time to take action. I lit my fire sword to catch him by surprise. With Toothless' help we ignited some nearby wooden crates and we advanced through the flames. The tightness of the new armour that I had made for the gang from the scales of our dragons allowed us this kind of fantasy. Impressed or rather trembling in fear, he asked:

"What are you?"

The only response I gave was by putting a finger in front of my lips while saying "Shhh". The hunter then started the fight by attacking me first. A small fencing duel therefore took place between us. My sword against his, I could anticipate his blows without taking blows myself. Toothless positioned himself behind the hunter to surprise him. He was about to attack when Snotlout and Hookfang arrived all in flames before landing very brutally on the deck of the ship.

"I am the god of FIRE!" exclaimed Snotlout.

Then, noticing his burning rear end, he began running in all directions screaming that there were still some adjustments to be made for his armour. He ran near the twins who had just appeared in the fog, followed by Barf and Belch.

"Behold your worst nightmare..." declared Tuffnut..

Beside him, his sister had begun to pronounce this same phrase:

"Behold…"

Tuff looked at her, visibly irritated.

"My annoying sister who insisted on coming."

"That's my intro?" she asked, confused.

Having watched the whole scene, I went towards them.

"Guys! Too soon! You always come in too soon!" I said, embarrassed.

That's when Fishlegs came out of nowhere screaming before he crashed to the ground.

"Sorry, still getting the hold of my wings."

In his front pocket, a baby Gronckle waddled, emitting what sounded like shouts of joy. It was Meatlug's baby.

"Fishlegs, again with the baby? This is a raid!" I exclaimed, annoyed by his behaviour.

"I couldn't find a sitter!" shouted Fishlegs, when I pointed to him and his baby with my flaming blade.

With all this, I had completely forgotten to take care of the hunter who ran off before he started shouting: "We're under attack!". I went after him to try to stop him, but Astrid beat me to it, preventing him from going further.

"Astrid I had him right where I wanted him!" I assured her.

She smiled at me before answering:

"And now he's right where I wanted him, let's get to work."

So we started to liberate the dragons locked in the cages onboard the boat. Fishlegs approached the cage of a large dragon who seemed to immediately befriend Meatlug's baby. While the Twins, on their side, fell in front of the cage of a tiny purple and yellow dragon.

"I bet he's super dumb!" exclaimed Ruffnut before approaching the cage to try to open it. "Ugh, why can't I get this cage open?"

Astrid came to her to show her how to open it.

"It slides..." she informed her before sliding the lock to open the cage.

"Obviously…" Ruffnut whispered, feeling a little silly not to have thought about it earlier.

However, new hunters came from all sides to surround us.

"Get the rescues out of here!" I shouted to the others.

With the gang, I engaged myself in single combat against the dragon hunters. Although Inferno was proving to be effective, I was far from being out of the woods either. Their number had doubled in the span of a few moments and I tried somehow to follow the movement of their blades. Fortunately Toothless was there; I do not know what I would do without him. Thanks to Toothless, I could better anticipate the movements of my opponent while thinking of a way to disarm. The other dragon riders seemed to be in the same position as me; the fight for dominance remained fragile but we fought all together. Seeing that I finally managed to fend for myself, I sent Toothless to find the rest of the dragons to save. Leaving me alone, I found myself fighting back to back beside my girlfriend. Our complicity allowed us to synchronise our gestures.

"I thought this was supposed to be a stealth mission?" she asked me.

"Yeah, they always start that way!"

We continued fighting before finally defeating the hunters in front of us. When we looked up to see what was happening to the others, it was a beaten-up Snotlout that we found. It was at this moment that my mother, who had stayed behind to observe how we managed without her, finally intervened. She was a nightmare to the hunter that had wronged Snotlout. We had the situation under control so far, so I was a little disappointed that she decided to intervene anyway.

"Uh Valka, I've got it under control, you can go back up with the man," said Tuffnut most seriously after having sat down on one of the hunters that he had vanquished.

I sighed, Tuff was really incorrigible.

"Rescue Team, move out, we got them all!" I shouted after several seconds to the attention of the dragons riders.

Everyone then ran to join their dragon and fly away, leaving Toothless and me behind.

"Toothless, let's go!" I told him while I was finishing up the fight with these last few remaining hunters.

Shortly, other reinforcements arrived and I soon found myself helpless against all these hunters.

"Oh, hey guys…" I tried as an approach.

I was finished. It was at this moment when Toothless decided to attack. He fired on the hunters before taking me on his back. As we flew away, I laughed.

"Haha, you always have my back bud!"

…

The sun had finally risen when we arrived at Berk. I watched my native island in detail: Berk had changed drastically in the past year. Multiple installations had been built as a result of increasingly frequent rescue raids. We brought back all the dragons we saved here. The stables were no longer sufficient, which quickly led to the construction of small housing specially designed for the dragons. There would soon be more of those dragon huts than human houses at this rate. Their increasingly important presence on the island had even pushed me to create dragon disguises for the sheep.

I ended up landing at the same time as the other dragon riders. We were cheered on by the crowd of berkians who were in the village square, chanting our name and congratulating us on the mission. I greeted them with a quick wave of the hand before descending from my dragon to remove my helmet.

My people.

I smiled at them before entering my hut to put on a more practical outfit to walk around the village in. We had an appointment in the Great Hall for breakfast. When I finally arrived in the hall with Toothless, Gobber grabbed me by the arm before lecturing me:

"Ah there you are! I have some things to tell you!" he shouted.

We entered the packed Great Hall. Numerous vikings inside had to play elbows to clear a path between the even more numerous dragons. We ourselves had to avoid a lot of dragons in passing before Gobber continued:

"Point is, you can't keep bringing Dragons back here! You're just asking for trouble. Those trappers are getting closer by the day."

Not far from us, my mother was occupied in an arm wrestle with Spitelout. She beat him easily under the eyes of his son, Snotlout. We continued to walk before I answered my interlocutor :

"We can handle it! We have the Alpha, isn't that right, bud?" I said, turning towards Toothless.

We finally arrived near a pot to serve us some soup.

"Gobber, relax, we did it! The first Dragon-Viking Utopia! We made the dream a reality!" I exclaimed.

The old man turned toward me with a doubtful look.

"Your utopia maybe, mine is less crowded and more… AH!" he suddenly exclaimed at the sight of the little dragon whom we had just brought back from the raid, and who was visibly comfortable in the pot full of soup.

"…sanitary" he finished saying.

He pulled away from the pot and continued walking; I followed him.

"Gobber, you're not fooling anybody, I know you love them…"

We walked to the table where the gang was sitting; Astrid was finishing her soup.

"You're supposed to be the generation that brings us into the future! We need a royal couple to rule this village!" exclaimed Gobber.

I stopped listening to him when Snotlout cried out :

"Haha, foodfight!"

The gang started a food fight, all except for Astrid and myself.

"Gods help us!" sighed Gobber, visibly annoyed.

He turned to me and Astrid.

"Maybe you should stop worrying about problems out there, and start sorting the one right here!" he uttered before taking Astrid and myself into his arms, on either side of him.

He pushed my head up before I could say anything audible as he continued:

"Hang up your saddles and get married!"

All of a sudden, the whole table fell silent. Snotlout, Fishlegs and the Twins stopped momentarily their game to look at Gobber.

"He said the M word!" Tuffnut exclaimed.

"Gross… I'm the only one who can say this forbidden word…" sighed the other twin.

Then the food fight started up again, as if nothing had happened.

"Astrid marry him please, you're the only one with sense around here! With you wearing the pants, there is still hope!"

Astrid looked up at Gobber before rising from her seat.

"Wow Gobber, not awkward at all!" she replied, looking anxious and embarrassed at the same time, before leaving the Great Hall.

"Astrid, wait!" I insisted before I got up to follow her.

Followed closely by Toothless, I tried in vain to make my way between the villagers and the dragons to try to catch her but when I finally could breathe in the open air, there was no trace of her. So I went looking for her, across the village with Toothless to try to find her, to no avail. She was gone.

This marriage story was really starting to take on huge proportions. Between the conversation I had surprisingly overheard this morning between Gobber and my mother, and now this… I did not even have the chance to tell Astrid about their plans and I had no idea what she thought of all of that… I blew it. I love Astrid and I had the hope that she would marry me one day but I was not sure she was ready for that, although I thought I was on my side.

I stopped a little while to admire the view that was given to me: my village. Berk had change a lot since the time when we still fought against dragons. I saw this little pile of rocks evolved through the years. I saw the dragons attack and steal from my island. I saw my dad fighting against them to protect his people and his family. But I also known him more optimistic. Especially when he told me these old tales about this hidden world that I told about to Astrid last night. I remember him carrying my frail little body on one arm when I was probably around six or seven years old. His words were still echoing in my head…

" _This is Berk, son._ _It's our home. This was the home of your grandparents and their grandparents before that. It is my job as chief to protect us and one day, when you are all grown up, that job will be passed on to you. But out there, beyond the sunset, lies the home of the Dragons. And I believe, it's your destiny to one day find this hidden world, so that people and dragons will fight no more…"_

He had pronounced those words at the same place, the same spot I was actually standing. Berk had definitely changed since I ended the war between Vikings and Dragons. New installations were created to facilitate our cohabitation. We were far from the village that was in constant reconstruction of the same old huts that were still risking to be destroyed at every new raid. I smiled. Dad, I was almost there. My destiny was about to be accomplished…

Toothless came to rub against me at this rightful moment.

"What?"

He whined pointing my metal leg.

"Oh all right, you know this isn't a chew toy, don't you? This is what you're looking for, this is what you want? You want my leg?", I said in a hurry before throwing my leg to the cliff.

I unfolded my map that I had on me to study it a little. I searched for clues on this hidden world. I wanted to know if we didn't neglect an island or something that could indicate us it position, I really started to think that what my dad told me when I was younger wasn't just an old myth...

Toothless came back quickly with my leg and he dropped on the ground. Opening his wings widely on the wind, he was floating in the air.

"Getting pretty good at flying on your own bud?"

He pursued his solo flight when I heard the really distinctive sound of a deadly Nadder. Why searching for Astrid when she could just come to me? She landed and, still on the back of her dragon said:

"Oh! So _this_ is where you come to get away from Gobber…"

"Haha, no idea what you're talking about", I answered ironically.

She climbed off Stormfly before getting surprised by Toothless who dropped my prosthetic covered in drool into her hands.

"Ugh!" she exclaimed in a disgusted tone.

She throw my leg above the cliff so the night fury can go get it again. Then, she took place by my side by sitting at the edge of the cliff.

"Well, he's right you know."

"R-Really?!", I asked, beautifully surprised. "You think you and I should–"

"Oh gods no! We're nowhere near ready for that!" , she said , embarrassed.

She was still feeling awkward by the way Gobber brought the thing.

"N-No No, that's crazy…", I answered trying to hide my deception by lowering my voice.

"I mean about all this…" , she said by pointing the view we had on Berk.

"It does seem like the whole world knows about us now…" I sighed.

"Yup, and the more dragons we bring back here, the bigger of a target we become…"

Toothless came back by dropping again my leg at her feet.

"Ugh!" , Astrid expressed with disgust.

She turned toward Toothless to throw it again so he can still play with it.

"I just wish there was some way to make them leave us alone!" , she sighed.

"Maybe there is…"

I made a break before Astrid stared at me with doubting eyes.

"Dad used to talk about an old mariner's myth of a secret land at the edge of the world, where dragons live totally out of reach."

"Well, sailors are known for tall tales…" , the blond mocked.

"True… but what if it's real!? It could be the answer to all of our problems!" , I said, full of confidence.

"How? By _moving_ the _dragons_ there?"

"Uh uh. _All_ of us."

"Seriously? And abandon our home of seven generations!? The home your father left you to protect!" , she said scandalized.

"Uh…" , I uttered, not knowing what to say.

Astrid just cut short all of my fantasies. She seemed more persuasive last night when I mentioned the subject.

"Yeah I think we need a real solution, Hiccup."

"Well we could just take Gobber's advice and tie the knot. That should fix everything! But hey! If you're having doubts about yours truly, I'm pretty sure Snotlout's available!"

"He only has eyes for your mom!" , she chuckled.

I exaggerate a shocked.

"Woah! Getting dirty now, huh?"

She started to laugh.

"You asked for it!", she taunted me. "Looks like there might be a wedding after all!" , she exclaimed contemplating an imaginary ring at her finger.

I caught Astrid bringing her to me.

"Oh how dare you! That is a low point- no, no! You are not getting away!"

She started to laugh when she tried to get out of my hold. I fought to keep her against me when she finally twisted my arm, just enough to free herself.

"Okay, okay! You win, you win! You always win!"

Still chuckling, she leaned against my shoulder, smile on her lips.

"You knew what we were getting into…"

"Uh huh. Right," I acquiesced.

I heard Toothless rush out of the precipice, jumping over it. Then, he rushed to the forest behind us before sinking into it. He had obviously smelled something.

"Uh. Bud?"

He continued his course without worrying about whether or not we were following him.

"Oh yeah, sure! Don't bother to wait for us!" I exclaimed.

Astrid burst out laughing before going after him.

As for me, I stayed in place, readjusting my metal leg that was dripping with Toothless' saliva.

"You coming?" the blonde asked me, turning to me when she realized I was not following her.

Astrid's face contracted, revealing a rift between her two eyebrows. She questioned me with her eyes.

"I-I'm coming!" I stammered hurrying to join her.

When I finally arrived at her side, she smiled and took my hand, pulling me with her into the grove. In the distance, we could distinguish Toothless sniffing the ground, in search of something. I was curious to know what excited him like that.

Astrid and I tried making ourselves as discreet as possible. Night was already falling when we reached the bottom of this thick forest. Toothless would not stop moving forward again and again, going further and further into the woods, now lit by the stars in the night sky.

"Where's he taking us like this?" Astrid whispered in my ear.

"I don't know… He must have smelled something, a presence..."

"Even Stormfly is gone!" she exclaimed at once.

The night fury raised his head, and he looked offended at being disturbed from his search, in which he seemed very much involved. I shrugged, looking helpless.

"Not that I'm interested," she said quietly, "quite the contrary, but still, why would Stormfly leave if there was something interesting at the end?"

"Patience…

"Patience… We're not at the end of our surprises with him!"

"Maybe…"

"Oh stop, you're doing it on purpose!"

"Maybe…" she continued, almost humming.

"I'm sure he'll find a..."

"Maybe…" she said, cutting me off with her chorus.

I turned to her, stopping to see her face surprised, grabbed both of her hands and I looked into her eyes. She smiled wryly. I returned her smile before leaning towards her.

"Would you marry me?" I asked, with all seriousness.

"Maybe…" she repeated instinctively before realizing my ruse.

She took a step back and exclaimed an "Oh!" of surprise. The blonde looked both suspicious and amused, as if she did not know what to think anymore. She bent her head down, scanning her feet, looking embarrassed before looking up at me to see my mischievous face. Her expression softened then, gratified me with a shy smile. Soon, I received as a reward a magnificent punch to the ribs from the beautiful young lady. It reminded me of the good old days.

"Well done Haddock," she said, shaking her head, smiling.

I rubbed my sore while looking at her, more in love than ever.

"Does that mean you're thinking about it?"

She turned towards me.

"I'll wait for your true proposal for that," she resorted before kissing me on the cheek.

I took her hand as I approached her to kiss her on the temple. We went on our way, hand in hand, before raising our heads towards Toothless, who was getting further away from us. It was then that he accelerated the pace for no reason, forcing us to press on.

"Hey bud, wait up!" I exclaimed, trying to slow him down.

We arrived at the edge of a cliff from which the night fury did not hesitate a single second to throw itself off of. I carefully approached to watch him from the top of the peak; he looked so tiny.

"Uh… How I am supposed to get down?"

I turned to Astrid; she shrugged.

"I think we'll have to find another solution."

"Yeah… Jumping is not an option; I didn't take my flight suit with me…"

I took Astrid's hand and raked the edge of the precipice in search of a safer place to go. We finally found what we were looking for, twenty feet away. The ground was lower, although rather steep. So I helped Astrid down to avoid any accident and, my hand still holding hers, we went in pursuit of Toothless who would end up losing us. When we finally reached his level, I was going to come forward to meet him, but then he stopped suddenly and turned his head to one side, before moving once more, slowly. I glanced at Astrid, lost. She motioned me forward and I followed Toothless discreetly. We left a distance between him and us so that we could observe him from a distance without disturbing him. Toothless then seemed to be moving towards something we could not see behind the trees where we had been hiding. We then bent our head aside to see more clearly and it was at that moment that _she_ appeared before our eyes amazed, this white form towards which seemed to approach my dragon. He then showed a great deal of enthusiasm for her. I looked more closely, it was a dragon with piercing blue eyes looking like two drops of water compared to mine, with the exception of her scaly white skin. I realized then that everything I could have imagined in my wildest dreams was coming true, now, before my very eyes. We left our hiding place to observe the scene in more detail.

"Oh my gods… he's not the only one?" I whispered while in marvel.

Astrid approached to stand beside me, unable to detach her eyes from the spectacle that presented itself to us.

"Another Night Fury…" pronounced Astrid, stupefied.

"It's more like a Bright… Fury," I retorted.

"A Light Fury", Astrid objected.

"Yeah, yours is better, probably," I agreed.

So we continued to watch the two dragons who were turning around and observing each other. I had never seen Toothless so happy. It had been so long since we were trying to find one of his species that I had come to believe that he was the last of his kind, but the arrival of this light fury put everything into question. However, we obviously had to spend too much time observing them because the new dragon was now aware of our presence; she looked frightened before disappearing into the foliage. Toothless took a few steps to follow her before turning to us, glaring at us, reproaching us.

"Oh, sorry…"

We started running to try to catch her, but she took off before we knew where she was going. Toothless then climbed a tree to better contemplate her when she spat a fiery projectile she flew through and vanished.

"Did she just disappear!?" exclaimed Astrid.

"By the looks of it, yes…" I sighed.

Toothless came down from his tree, sheepishly. I approached my dragon to caress his head.

"Huh bud, talk about a find!"

He let out his tongue as I scratched the top of his head.

"And to say that Astrid thought we would not find anything…" I mocked.

She narrowed her eyes, nodding negatively before crossing her arms over her chest.

"That's great, bud, you may not be the last of your kind finally! It is imperative that we go in search of this light fury!"

I grabbed Astrid's hand.

"But before that, we need to inform the others of her existence!"

…

When we returned back to the village, it appeared deserted at first sight. The light from the barns told us that we were moving inside. We then entered the building and it was then when I saw my mother that I understood the reason for which this crowd had gathered. She had trouble moving and seemed lost. She was hurt.

"Mom!" I exclaimed before rushing to her aid before she fell.

She took off her mask to look at me.

"Hiccup…" she said breathlessly.

She began to cough and put her hand to her mouth to muffle the noise.

"What happened!?"

She caught her breath before looking up at me with a dark look.

"I went on a reconnaissance patrol earlier in the day… You know it's been a few weeks since we suspected someone preparing something, that's why I took you on a raid this morning. The person who organizes this dragon traffic plans to use them for whatever reason but the facts are there."

She grabbed my arm.

"Hiccup," she continued. "There are many tribes who are still not at peace with the dragons. And with all our raids as of late, we are starting to make a name for ourselves… and that does not please everyone."

My mother looked away.

"I spotted a boat bearing Drago's symbol…"

The people who were gathered inside the building were terrified at the utterance of that name. My mom motioned them to be quiet and then continued:

"With Cloudjumper, we followed it to an island were I overheard a conversation it had for a few moments with a smuggler; he said he had cargo for people calling themselves 'War Lords'."

She turned her attention back to her dragon, which she held so she would not fall. She frowned.

"There is an armada with enough cages for all of our dragons."

People stifled a cry, me being the first:

"Wait, what!?"

My mother nodded sadly.

"And what happened next?"

"We were spotted and I was hit in the leg with an arrow."

I saw the pain on her face; I did not like to see her like that.

"While escaping, they threatened us by saying that Grimmel the Grisly would come for us on Berk…"

"I've already heard that name somewhere… and apparently he knows where to find us…" I summed up, somewhat stunned by all this news.

Astrid stepped closer to us, putting a hand on my shoulder.

"He may be one step ahead of us but we will be ready to receive him," she said with a determined look.

"And we'll be there to give you a hand," added Snotlout as he approached, followed closely by Fishlegs and the Twins.

"Yeah, we'll give him one of those traps! He won't know what hit him!" exclaimed Tuffnut.

"Thank you gang" I said under my breath, moved.

"It's nothing," reassured Fishlegs.

"So what are we waiting for? Let's get to work!" ordered our general Hofferson.

I directed myself then towards my hut to put in place a ploy to trap our potentially future guest.

…

Everything was now in place. The only left was to find out if dear Grimmel would do us the honor of visiting tonight or later on…

Astrid was sitting at the table where I used to eat with my father; I looked at her with a smile. She was pensive. I approached her gently.

"Hey, you're okay?"

"Huh? Uh… Yeah, I'm fine."

"It does not look that way, though" I retorted.

She looked down as if she needed to think before deciding whether or not she should tell me what was bothering her so much.

"It's just…" she started. "This whole marriage thing… What do you think? Not that I'm into it! But yeah, what do you think?" she finished saying, passing her fingers through her hair.

Her question took me off guard.

 _What did I think?_ I repeated to myself.

Her blue eyes were trying to read mine to find an answer. I leaned over and took her hands.

"Astrid, I know Gobber put a little bit of pressure on you with this wedding story, but know that we are not obligated to do anything, okay?"

I gave her a reassuring smile before kissing the back of her hand.

"I love you, Astrid Hofferson and I want to marry you but we are not in a hurry, we will do it when we are ready."

A wide smile then appeared on her round face that I loved so much.

"Hey lovebirds it's not all, but maybe you should put yourselves to your positions!" rebelled Snotlout.

I gave a little laugh.

"Aha, you're right Snotlout."

I turned to Astrid and kissed her forehead before she went back to hide with my mother on the floor. I began to read a book while waiting for our enemy to poke his nose inside. It was then that I heard some noise coming from the next room. I entered and it was thus that I discovered him, at ease, comfortably installed in my father's old throne, beside a vivid red dragon, sipping a glass of I-don't-know-what. He was a tall man with a long face, gray hair, with a look that would have frozen more than one. He had fired an arrow at Toothless who was in close proximity.

"Toothless! What did you do to him?!" I shouted, taking my sword out of its holster.

"Nothing that hurt your dragon."

He looked at me from top to bottom.

"So you're the new chief. I remember the Chief before you. The Great Stoick the Vast. And now the Great Chief is dead. It was only a matter of time. Your father was a great Dragon Hunter. He hadn't lied to you. Making his mission to this world to be, so that you could grow up in a better world."

"He changed his mind." I retorted.

"And look where that got him… " he said coldly, followed by a pause. "So let's get to the point. I am the Night Fury Killer. I've hunted every last one but yours. You're going to give me that dragon or hundreds– "

"I will never give him up," I declared, cutting him off.

He then laughed mischievously. The old man then got up from the seat where he had been sitting until then, and started walking near what he always through was Toothless. He then lifted the fabric and discovered an unconscious Fishlegs.

"Now!" I shouted to the others who came out of their hiding places to surround Grimmel.

With my fire sword ignited, I took a step towards him before declaring:

"You think you can come into _my_ home, sit on _my_ father's throne and threaten _my_ dragon? We've fought much worse than you and won."

An insane smile appeared on his face.

"You think you can stop me? I am nothing you have ever faced before."

It was then that the roof caught fire; a dragon had ignited it and was in pursuit of Astrid who was still up there.

"Astrid!" I shouted.

She ran then rolled on her side before Grimmel's dragon could reach her. I gave him a relieved look before Grimmel spoke to me one last time:

"You better give me the dragon when I return, or I will destroy everything you love."

He disappeared into the black smoke created by his dragons. We left the hut and it was with astonishment that we discovered our village in flames. Innumerable huts burned under our terrified eyes. We were in a living nightmare.


End file.
